


What Would You Do For a...

by orphan_account



Series: Winteriron Prompts [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nostalgia, The Perfect Burger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-28
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 21:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5841688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky groans, letting his head rest back on the table. “What I wouldn’t do for that burger right about now.”</p><p>“Dangerous words, babe. Don’t go giving our enemies any ideas.”</p><p>“At least they would know to bribe me with the perfect burger. I mean, shit, Tony, I would fucking <em>marry you</em> for another taste of that burger.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Would You Do For a...

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on [imaginetonyandbucky](imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com).
> 
> The prompt: "Imagine Bucky jokingly told Tony that the only way he'd marry him was if he did this weird outlandish thing, and he actually did it, and it was kind of charming."

There was a diner, Bucky can recall, that made the perfect burger. And no, Steve, he is not exaggerating or blowing his memories out of proportion. The patties were thick, seasoned just right and cooked just long enough to get it perfectly juicy. They were placed on homemade buns, firm and coated with a layer of butter. Mayo and mustard were spread thin, pickles and tomatoes were even thinner. And fuck, those fries were so greasy and crunchy, the perfect foil to the perfect burger.

Bucky’s taken many a time to wax lyrical about the perfect burger from that diner long ago. Thor is probably the only one to not judge him. Even Bruce side-eyes him if he ever brings it up. Steve is probably a little more sympathetic because he’s tasted the burger before, but he still lifts a brow in skepticism. Tony is definitely judging but humors him anyway. Probably because they’ve been sharing the same bed for a whole year and Bucky somehow has the power to make Tony sleep on the couch.

None of the judging compares, however, to how Natasha decides to crush his soul.

“You know that diner’s gone now, right?” Natasha stares Bucky down, unimpressed with his fanaticism over a piece of meat caught between two pieces of bread. The heathen.

Bucky stares right back, trying to absorb her words. And eat his soup, but he’s already given that up as a lost cause until this conversation is over. “W-what?”

“It was a diner over in Bushwick, right?”

“Yeah, your point?”

“It’s been torn down. Replaced with the Maria Hernandez Park.” Natasha raises a brow. “Looks like you’ll have to go out and find the new perfect burger.”

“You’re… you’re bullshitting me. You’re totally bullshitting me. Steve!” The man, finally back from his jog, stops dead in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights. “Tell me Natasha is bullshitting me about the diner.”

Steve’s eyes shift to Natasha then back to Bucky. And then he goes pale. Ah, fuck. “Um, sorry to disappoint you, Buck. It’s definitely been torn down.”

“Replaced with a park?” Bucky whines, finally letting his spoon drop into the bowl. His brows scrunch up in thought, and then he glares up at his friend. “Is this why you say absolutely nothing when I talk about it? I thought you were just agreeing with me!”

“W-well, I didn’t know how to tell you it was gone, Bucky. You were so earnest and blissed out talking about that burger.” Steve rubs the back of his neck. “Didn’t know how to tell you it’s also just a burger.”

“You shut your whore mouth, that is the finest burger you will ever experience in your life.” But the misery of discovering his perfect burger can no longer exist has taken hold, and Bucky ends up staring down at his cold soup, willing it to magically turn into that burger he remembers so well. Maybe he can convince Strange to help him out?

“You stare at it any longer, it’ll turn to ice. Or spontaneously combust, I can’t decide just yet.”

Bucky looks up to see Tony shuffling into the kitchen, yawning as he stabs at the coffee machine in the hopes to get his daily fix. Once he’s satisfied, he turns his gorgeous bedhead back to Bucky and continues. “What are you doing eating soup for breakfast, anyway? Is this some weird Russian thing? Should I keep some borscht on hand for dessert tonight?”

Bucky rolls his eyes, smiling. “Shut up, I’ll have you know this soup is good enough to have for any meal.”

“That why you’re staring at it longingly? Or is this something to do with that burger you keep going on about?”

Bucky frowns. “How’d you know?”

Tony shrugs as he turns back to the machine. “Not that hard to guess. That look is often reserved for me and that burger. If I didn’t know the place had been torn down, I’d say you were going to leave me to marry the owner.”

Bucky sighs, sliding the soup away to drop his head onto the table. “Why did everyone know but me? Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me until now?”

“Because your mental fragility had us walking on eggshells?” Bucky glances up to glare at Tony. “No, seriously, it was better to have you all wistful and nostalgic than breaking down because the perfect burger no longer existed.”

“What bullshit. It’s because you thought it was amusing.”

Tony tries to hide his smile by chugging his coffee down. He’s unsuccessful.

Bucky groans, letting his head rest back on the table. “What I wouldn’t do for that burger right about now.”

“Dangerous words, babe. Don’t go giving our enemies any ideas.”

“At least, they would know to bribe me with the perfect burger. I mean, shit, Tony, I would fucking _marry you_ for another taste of that burger.”

Bucky feels arms wrap around him as Tony chuckles into his skin. “I see how it is. You’re just here for my money and connections.”

“That’s not true.” Bucky turns to wrap his arms around Tony in return. “I also stick around because you give great head.”

Tony laughs in response, and Bucky smiles at the warmth that laugh brings him. He’s very sure that if it wasn’t for Tony, he wouldn’t be nearly as sane or happy as he is now. This is the man who gave Bucky a home, a new arm, practically everything. When Bucky needed attention off of him, Tony was there. When Bucky needed someone to just listen to him rant and rave against everything in this new world, Tony was there. When Bucky needed to cry on someone’s shoulder in the wake of haunting nightmares, Tony was there.

And as long as Tony lives, he will always be there, loving Bucky with all his heart. And Bucky would be there, doing the same for Tony.

* * *

Bucky quickly forgets that morning’s conversation - except for Natasha dashing his hopes to dust. He doesn’t often think about how nice it would be to be married to Tony. They love each other, are totally devoted to each other. While it would be great to have something legally binding to wave in front of everyone’s face and say yes, he was allowed to be happy and have his dreams come true, he’s perfectly fine with what they have. His dreams are coming true already, and he understands that Tony’s experience with his family has probably put him off the idea of marriage for forever. And that’s perfectly fine. Other than the issue with the medical next of kin, they basically have everything they could’ve had if they were married.

Steve doesn’t always see it that way. And really likes to stick his nose into things that don’t involve him, the twerp. “But don’t you deserve to be happy the way you want to be happy?”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “What makes you think I’m not happy the way I want to be?”

“Because I remember you, age ten, yammering my ear off about how you were going to get a nice house out in the suburbs with a white picket fence and carry your bride across the threshold. Age sixteen, you then added on how you were going to have four kids, two boys and two girls, along with a dog and cat. Age twenty-four, you changed ‘bride’ to ‘groom’ when it was just you and me when we could pretend you couldn’t get killed for that kind of talk.”

Bucky frowns, turns his attention to the game they’re watching unfold on the TV. “Maybe I’ve changed some more.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you’re completely fine settling with what you have with Tony right now.”

Bucky turns his full body this time, ready to rip Steve a new one, but the look on Steve’s face brings him up short. Because yeah, now that he thinks about it, those things he wanted as a kid are still pressing for recognition in his mind. He still dreams of carrying Tony over that threshold, of waking up to kids jumping on their bed Christmas morning, of walking those kids to school with the dog on a leash. He still wants that, but he’s afraid if he brings even a smidgen of his dreams up, Tony’s going to freak out and do something stupid like break up with him. And it wouldn’t be because Tony doesn’t love him enough to give him that, but rather that he thinks he could never provide that. Because Tony’s genius brain really works backwards sometimes.

“Well,” he says instead, “I already kinda have the house.”

Steve snorts. “Which you’re sharing with your friends and half of a company.”

“The fence isn’t white picket, but it’s way better at protecting us.”

“I’m sure JARVIS loves hearing that he’s a fence.”

“Not to mention JARVIS and the bots are already like Tony’s kids.”

“I don’t think even Tony thinks it’s the same.”

“Look, Steve, I don’t know what you’re wanting from me, alright?”

“I want you to at least talk to him, Bucky. Let him know what your dreams are. Maybe the talk means you’ll change your dreams, maybe you’ll work it out in some way that only makes sense to the two of you, but…” Steve shakes his head, looking sad. “But I don’t want you to end up resenting Tony because you guys never talked about what you both wanted. It’s not fair to either of you.”

Bucky’s lips thin as he thinks over Steve’s words. It makes sense, at least. No matter how scared Bucky is of losing Tony, it’s not worth avoiding if it means he’ll end up hating Tony at the end of it. That would be worse, really. Because Tony would just end up thinking it was all his fault.

After some thought, Bucky finally nods. “Yeah, okay. I’ll talk to him. Tomorrow night, Tony’s got this big date thing planned out.”

Steve tilts his head in consideration. “That doesn’t sound like the best time to bring it up.”

“If I bring it up before or after, he’ll think I’m trying to break up with him. That’s already happened enough times in this relationship to make me want to avoid that song and dance for the rest of my life. If I do it while we’re on the date, explain things to Tony, then he won’t freak out as bad, and won’t think I’m trying to break things off.” Bucky rubs his face with his hands. “It’s not the best time, but it’ll probably be the only time.”

Steve nods his head, sighing. “Just be careful, Buck, okay? I don’t want to have to choose which friend to hang out with.”

Bucky smiles gratefully, bringing his focus back to the fourth inning on the screen. “Yeah, let’s avoid that as much as possible.”

* * *

He means to bring it up just as they get into the car, but as they pull out onto the street, Bucky sees Tony’s hands have a slight tremor to them. Which is rather alarming, because Tony never has any nerves when he’s driving. He loves driving almost as much as he loves shooting through the air in his suit.

“Are you okay?” Bucky asks. “You’re shaking. Did you have too much coffee? Is something up with the arc reactor?”

“No, no,” Tony is quick to reassure, and he seems genuine enough that Bucky relaxes a bit. “No, just excited to see what you think of this date.”

Bucky smiles, resting his hand on Tony’s thigh. “I’m sure I’ll love it. I love anything we do together.”

Tony glances over briefly to smile back. “Me too. But this is a big date thing. Eighteen months.”

“Hmm?”

“We first met eighteen months, two weeks, and for days ago. So, yeah. Big date.”

Bucky’s smile splits into a grin, his heart warming and thudding loudly behind his ribs. Eighteen months, huh? It feels like just yesterday, but then it also feels like they’ve known each other for forever. It’s no surprise Tony has been able to keep track, genius that he is, but it doesn’t lessen how touched Bucky feels that Tony wants to make something big out of it.

They head out of Manhattan and right through into Brooklyn, but no further South than Myrtle Avenue. Bucky takes in the sights, some familiar, others not so much, until they pull up to a park, complete with a basketball court and jungle gym.

Bucky frowns in confusion. “Here?”

“Yup,” Tony parks the car and quickly kills the engine, patting Bucky’s hand. “C’mon, I’ve got the perfect place set up.”

Bucky’s confusion only grows as they make their way to the middle of the park. It’s dark, with street lamps as their only source of light. That and a…

“A grill?”

Tony smiles, taking Bucky’s hand. “Yes, that’s a grill, but I’m thinking we sit at the table instead.”

And that’s when Bucky finally notices the table set up. It… it sort of looks like a diner table, though less 40s and more 50s - he’s seen the pictures and did his own version of “back in my day”. When he and Tony settle in their seats, a woman comes over in… shit, in a waitress dress that is very much the 40s style. She smiles wide as she sets glasses of water in front of both of them. “What can I get for you two?”

“I was thinking some burgers,” Tony replies immediately. “And a thing of fries to share.”

The waitress nods and leaves without another word.

Bucky turns his attention to Tony, who’s trying a little too hard to act innocent as he fiddles with the ketchup and mustard - holy shit, ketchup and mustard bottles like they had back when he was a kid. “Okay, I’m not freaking out. I’m just really confused. What the hell?”

“You’ve lost access to the perfect burger,” Tony says, and Bucky can’t help but groan.

He can’t help the smile, either. “Really? Gonna rub it in my face with this gourmet burger you hired someone to make for us?”

“Shush, I’ve got this whole thing planned out. You lost access to the perfect burger, and despite all the ribbing you get whenever you reminisce, you seemed genuinely upset about it. It was enough to get me curious, so I did some research. The diner that was here, it got torn down in ‘74, became some lot before they transformed it into this park in ‘89. It was called Quincy & Quincy, owned by a lovely couple who already had it open for ten years before you ever set foot in it. By the time it was torn down, all those recipes had been handed down a couple generations. Those two,” Tony nods over to the waitress and cook, “are Roberta Quincy-Slokovnic and Antony Slokovnic.”

Bucky holds his breath, not daring to consider where Tony is going with this.

“They opened a diner. This hole in the wall place up by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It’s basically this retro-style place. Other than some very slight ingredient changes, all the recipes are the same. But you don’t have memories of that place, you have memories of Quincy & Quincy. Right here.” Tony takes Bucky’s hand, running his thumb soothingly over his fingers. “Thought it was high time we gave you some more memories here.”

“Your burgers and fries,” the waitress is back, gently placing two burgers and then a basket of fries right in front of them. “Will that be all, sir?”

“Yes, thank you, Roberta,” Tony turns his smile on the waitress, pulling his hand away to reach into his wallet and give the woman a $50. “You two are awesome.”

“It’s no trouble, Mr. Stark. Just glad to find someone who thinks our burgers are perfect.” Roberta turns her smile onto Bucky.

He’s pretty sure his heart stops at what she said. He stares down at the burger, barely registering Roberta and her husband leaving the park. The bun doesn’t look like the usual store-bought ones. It looks homemade and has a glaze of butter on the top. He lifts the bun to see the underside lightly coated in mayo and mustard. Under the pickles and tomatoes is the patty, thick and juicy. He immediately puts the burger back together and quickly picks it up to take a bite. The burger bursts with flavor, a flavor that Bucky hasn’t tasted in seventy years.

He may or may not be crying.

“Shit,” Tony’s voice sounds worried, “does it taste nothing like the original?”

“It tastes exactly like the original,” Bucky’s voice sounds as choked up as he feels, which is embarrassing. He doesn’t really care right now, though. “It’s just like I remembered it. It’s perfect.” He nabs a couple of fries and pops them into his mouth. He sniffles. “Fuck, the fries are perfect, too.”

That’s pretty much how the rest of the dinner goes. He takes a bite of the burger, trying not to cry too much, but ultimately failing after adding a couple fries into the beautiful symphony of flavors in his mouth. He’s marvelling in the food too much to be embarrassed Eventually, he’s just left there, sniffling over an empty plate and a satisfied stomach.

Though now he was wondering… “Why all this? We could’ve just gone over to the diner you mentioned.”

Tony shifts in his seat, nervousness emerging. “Well, ah. Okay, so um. Shit, I had this all planned out, and my brain chooses now to go wherever it goes when I’m like this.” Tony runs a hand through his hair.

“Okay, babe, I am now starting to freak out, what’s going on?” Bucky goes still and his eyes go wide. “Are you _dying_?”

“No!” Tony holds up his hands in a placating manner. “Fuck no, that’s not what this is, I swear. I just… fuck, whatever, I’ll just wing it.” Tony slips out of his seat and goes to one knee.

Bucky’s eyes somehow grow wider. “Wha-?”

“James, when we first met, we were both piping hot messes. I was dealing with a break-up and you were dealing with HYDRA shit, and we were both really touchy. We used to fight all the time, bicker like nobody’s business. But then we somehow got over ourselves and helped each other. Fuck, you didn’t have to help me with my issues, you were dealing with your own. But you helped. You have been there for me, through thick and thin. You let me love you and let me be loved, and I can’t imagine a life without you anymore. I don’t want to imagine a life without you. And yeah, I know you were probably joking when you said it, but I thought all this, the burger and the place that used to be a diner, would be the right thing to do before asking you.” Tony takes a deep breath, pulls a box out of his pocket, and opens it up to show the simple yet gorgeous ring nestled within it. “James Buchanan Barnes, will you marry me?”

Bucky stares down at the ring, looks back up at Tony, and may or may not begin crying again. “Fuck, I just got myself calmed down, and then you have to go and do all this? Yes, god yes, I’ll marry you.”

Tony’s smile is nothing like Bucky has ever seen before, warmer and as happy as Bucky feels right at that moment. He take the ring, falters briefly before Bucky holds out his right hand - he wants to feel the weight of that ring, fuck what anyone else thinks - and then slides the ring onto the proper finger. Before he can do anything else, Bucky shoots out of his chair, practically tackling his _fiancee_ to embrace him and kiss him senseless.

Bucky doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy, even before the War.

Once they finally pull out of the kiss, Tony brushes tears from Bucky’s cheek and says, “Huh, Steve wasn’t kidding when he said you’d cry.”

Bucky frowns. “What do you… Steve. That little shit, he knew all along??”

“Well, I mentioned what you said, thought you were joking, and he got all emotional on me, too. Said he’d check to make sure you were still wanting all that. Last night he came down to the workshop and said, ‘If you don’t do it, I will murder you in your sleep.’ I don’t know what’s more intimidating, Captain America saying that to me, or Steve Rogers saying that to me.”

“Doesn’t matter, babe.” Bucky presses another kiss, softer this time, to Tony’s lips. “I’d protect you.”

Tony smiles, pulling Bucky close for another embrace. “My hero.”

* * *

It’s pretty much impossible to keep their wedding on the down-low from the public. Even though it’s just them and their closest friends, millions of people practically make a holiday out of it. It will always be weird to think about, but Tony reassures him it won’t be like that for their anniversaries. Just hearing Tony utter the word “anniversaries” is enough to make Bucky forget what he was worried about in the first place.

The reception is equally small, same circle of friends, though Roberta and Antony make a brief appearance to give their wedding present: the recipe for the Perfect Burger.

Bucky may or may not be crying.


End file.
